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Rosén, J., Lindblom, J., Lamb, M. & Billing, E. (2024). Previous Experience Matters: An in-Person Investigation of Expectations in Human–Robot Interaction. International Journal of Social Robotics, 16(3), 447-460
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Previous Experience Matters: An in-Person Investigation of Expectations in Human–Robot Interaction
2024 (English)In: International Journal of Social Robotics, ISSN 1875-4791, E-ISSN 1875-4805, Vol. 16, no 3, p. 447-460Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

The human–robot interaction (HRI) field goes beyond the mere technical aspects of developing robots, often investigating how humans perceive robots. Human perceptions and behavior are determined, in part, by expectations. Given the impact of expectations on behavior, it is important to understand what expectations individuals bring into HRI settings and how those expectations may affect their interactions with the robot over time. For many people, social robots are not a common part of their experiences, thus any expectations they have of social robots are likely shaped by other sources. As a result, individual expectations coming into HRI settings may be highly variable. Although there has been some recent interest in expectations within the field, there is an overall lack of empirical investigation into its impacts on HRI, especially in-person robot interactions. To this end, a within-subject in-person study () was performed where participants were instructed to engage in open conversation with the social robot Pepper during two 2.5 min sessions. The robot was equipped with a custom dialogue system based on the GPT-3 large language model, allowing autonomous responses to verbal input. Participants’ affective changes towards the robot were assessed using three questionnaires, NARS, RAS, commonly used in HRI studies, and Closeness, based on the IOS scale. In addition to the three standard questionnaires, a custom question was administered to capture participants’ views on robot capabilities. All measures were collected three times, before the interaction with the robot, after the first interaction with the robot, and after the second interaction with the robot. Results revealed that participants to large degrees stayed with the expectations they had coming into the study, and in contrast to our hypothesis, none of the measured scales moved towards a common mean. Moreover, previous experience with robots was revealed to be a major factor of how participants experienced the robot in the study. These results could be interpreted as implying that expectations of robots are to large degrees decided before interactions with the robot, and that these expectations do not necessarily change as a result of the interaction. Results reveal a strong connection to how expectations are studied in social psychology and human-human interaction, underpinning its relevance for HRI research.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Springer Nature, 2024
Keywords
Expectations, Previous experience, Social robot, Human–robot interaction, Experiment, Expectation gap, Pepper, GPT, Large language models
National Category
Robotics and automation Human Computer Interaction Social Psychology
Research subject
Interaction Lab (ILAB)
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:his:diva-23641 (URN)10.1007/s12369-024-01107-3 (DOI)001172192700001 ()2-s2.0-85186211586 (Scopus ID)
Funder
University of Skövde
Note

CC BY 4.0 DEED

Published: 29 February 2024

Open access funding provided by University of Skövde.

Available from: 2024-02-29 Created: 2024-02-29 Last updated: 2025-02-05Bibliographically approved
Rosén, J. (2024). What did you expect?: A human-centered approach to investigating and reducing the social robot expectation gap. (Doctoral dissertation). Skövde: University of Skövde
Open this publication in new window or tab >>What did you expect?: A human-centered approach to investigating and reducing the social robot expectation gap
2024 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

We live in a complex world where we proactively plan and execute various behaviors by forming expectations in real time. Expectations are beliefs regarding the future state of affairs and they play an integral part of our perception, attention, and behavior. Over time, our expectations become more accurate as we interact with the world and others around us. People interact socially with other people by inferring others' purposes, intentions, preferences, beliefs, emotions, thoughts, and goals. Similar inferences may occur when we interact with social robots. With anthropomorphic design, these robots are designed to mimic people physically and behaviorally. As a result, users predominantly infer agency in social robots, often leading to mismatched expectations of the robots' capabilities, which ultimately influences the user experience. 

In this thesis, the role and relevance of users' expectations in first-hand social human-robot interaction (sHRI) was investigated. There are two major findings. First, in order to study expectations in sHRI, the social robot expectation gap evaluation framework was developed. This framework supports the systematic study and evaluation of expectations over time, considering the unique context where the interaction is unfolding. Use of the framework can inform sHRI researchers and designers on how to manage users’ expectations, not only in the design, but also during evaluation and presentation of social robots. Expectations can be managed by identifying what kinds of expectations users have and aligning these through design and dissemination which ultimately creates more transparent and successful interactions and collaborations. The framework is a tool for achieving this goal. Second, results show that previous experience has a strong impact on users’ expectations. People have different expectations of social robots and view social robots as both human-like and as machines. Expectations of social robots can vary according to the source of the expectation, with those who had previous direct experiences of robots having different expectations than those who relied on indirect experiences to generate expectations.    

One consequence of these results is that expectations can be a confounding variable in sHRI research. Previous experience with social robots can prime users in future interactions with social robots. These findings highlight the unique experiences users have, even when faced with the same robot. Users' expectations and how they change over time shapes the users’ individual needs and preferences and should therefore be considered in the interpretation of sHRI. In doing so, the social robot expectation gap can be reduced.

Abstract [sv]

Vi lever i en komplex värld och för att kunna hantera denna komplexitet formar vi förväntningar. Förväntningar är antaganden om framtida tillstånd och är en vital del av vår perception, uppmärksamhet och beteende. Genom att interagera med omvärlden och andra människor blir våra förväntningar mer precisa och korrekta över tid. I en social interaktion behöver vi förstå den andra personens syften, avsikter, preferenser, övertygelser, känslor, tankar och mål. Sociala robotar är utformade för att skapa liknande inferenser när användare interagerar med dem. Detta kan leda till missbedömningar mellan vad vi förväntar oss av sociala robotar och vad dessa artefakter är kapabla till, vilket påverkar användarupplevelsen av sociala robotar.

I den här avhandlingen presenteras den forskning som har utförts för att studera rollen och relevansen av människors förväntningar i social människa-robotinteraktion (sMRI). Resultaten kan delas in i två större fynd. Det första fyndet är ett utvärderingsramverk som ämnar att systematiskt studera användares förväntningar av sociala robotar i en interaktion, med fokus på hur förväntningar ändras över tid i en interaktion, med interaktionens unika kontext i åtanke. Ramverket är menat för designers av sociala robotar och forskare inom sMRI-fältet för att bättre studera, hantera, och förstå förväntningar, både i robotarnas design och i robotarnas agerande. Det andra fyndet består av de empiriska resultat som visar hur tidigare erfarenheter påverkar användares förväntningar. Förväntningarna baseras till stor del på vilka typer av tidigare erfarenheter användare har, där de med direkta erfarenheter av robotar har andra förväntningar än de med indirekta erfarenheter. Vidare visar resultaten att användare ser sociala robotar både som människolika och som maskiner samtidigt.

Förväntningar kan också ses som en bakomliggande variabel inom sMRI-forskning eftersom tidigare erfarenheter kan påverka deltagare i kommande interaktioner med sociala robotar. Resultaten visar även att användarupplevelsen är unik för varje användare, även om roboten är densamma, vilket bör tas i åtanke när resultat tolkas i en sMRI-kontext. Genom att ha förväntningar i åtanke kan vi minska det gap som uppstår mellan människors förväntningar av sociala robotar och robotarnas faktiska förmågor. På så sätt kan vi främja positiva användarupplevelser och förbättra interaktionen mellan människa och robot.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Skövde: University of Skövde, 2024. p. 220
Series
Dissertation Series ; 55
National Category
Robotics and automation Interaction Technologies Social Psychology Ethics Social Psychology Computer graphics and computer vision Human Computer Interaction
Research subject
Interaction Lab (ILAB)
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:his:diva-23414 (URN)978-91-987906-9-6 (ISBN)
Public defence
2024-01-19, G207, Högskolevägen 3, Skövde, 13:00 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Note

Ett av sju delarbeten (övriga se rubriken Delarbeten/List of papers):

VII Lindblom, Jessica, Rosén, Julia, Lamb, Maurice, and Billing, Erik (Manuscript). “Disentangling People’s Experiences and Expectations when Interacting with the Social Robot Pepper: A Qualitative Analysis”. In: Manuscript for scientific journal, pp. 1–41.

Available from: 2023-12-07 Created: 2023-12-07 Last updated: 2025-02-05Bibliographically approved
Rosén, J., Billing, E. & Lindblom, J. (2023). Applying the Social Robot Expectation Gap Evaluation Framework. In: Masaaki Kurosu; Ayako Hashizume (Ed.), Human-Computer Interaction: Thematic Area, HCI 2023, Held as Part of the 25th HCI International Conference, HCII 2023, Copenhagen, Denmark, July 23–28, 2023, Proceedings, Part III. Paper presented at International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction HCI 2023, Thematic Area, HCI 2023, Held as Part of the 25th HCI International Conference, HCII 2023, Copenhagen, Denmark, July 23–28, 2023 (pp. 169-188). Cham: Springer
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Applying the Social Robot Expectation Gap Evaluation Framework
2023 (English)In: Human-Computer Interaction: Thematic Area, HCI 2023, Held as Part of the 25th HCI International Conference, HCII 2023, Copenhagen, Denmark, July 23–28, 2023, Proceedings, Part III / [ed] Masaaki Kurosu; Ayako Hashizume, Cham: Springer, 2023, p. 169-188Conference paper, Published paper (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

Expectations shape our experience with the world, including our interaction with technology. There is a mismatch between whathumans expect of social robots and what they are actually capable of.Expectations are dynamic and can change over time. We have previ- AQ1ously developed a framework for studying these expectations over timein human-robot interaction (HRI). In this work, we applied the socialrobot expectation gap evaluation framework in an HRI scenario from aUX evaluation perspective, by analyzing a subset of data collected froma larger experiment. The framework is based on three factors of expectation: affect, cognitive processing, as well as behavior and performance. Four UX goals related to a human-robot interaction scenario were evaluated. Results show that expectations change over time with an overallimproved UX in the second interaction. Moreover, even though some UX goals were partly fulfilled, there are severe issues with the conversation between the user and the robot, ranging from the quality of theinteraction to the users’ utterances not being recognized by the robot.This work takes the initial steps towards disentangling how expectations work and change over time in HRI. Future work includes expanding the metrics to study expectations and to further validate the framework.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Cham: Springer, 2023
Series
Lecture Notes in Computer Science, ISSN 0302-9743, E-ISSN 1611-3349 ; 14013
Keywords
Human-robot interaction, Social robots, Expectations, User experience, Evaluation, Expectation gap
National Category
Human Computer Interaction
Research subject
Interaction Lab (ILAB); INF302 Autonomous Intelligent Systems
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:his:diva-23092 (URN)10.1007/978-3-031-35602-5_13 (DOI)001289342400013 ()2-s2.0-85173035452 (Scopus ID)978-3-031-35602-5 (ISBN)978-3-031-35601-8 (ISBN)
Conference
International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction HCI 2023, Thematic Area, HCI 2023, Held as Part of the 25th HCI International Conference, HCII 2023, Copenhagen, Denmark, July 23–28, 2023
Note

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023

Available from: 2023-08-15 Created: 2023-08-15 Last updated: 2024-09-27Bibliographically approved
Rosén, J., Lagerstedt, E. & Lamb, M. (2023). Investigating NARS: Inconsistent Practice of Application and Reporting. In: Proceedings of the 2023 32nd IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN): . Paper presented at IEEE International Workshop on Robot and Human Communication (ROMAN), August 28-31, 2023, Paradise Hotel, Busan, Korea (pp. 922-927). IEEE
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Investigating NARS: Inconsistent Practice of Application and Reporting
2023 (English)In: Proceedings of the 2023 32nd IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN), IEEE, 2023, p. 922-927Conference paper, Published paper (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

The Negative Attitude toward Robots Scale (NARS) is one of the most common questionnaires used in the studies of human-robot interaction (HRI). It was established in 2004, and has since then been used in several domains to measure attitudes, both as main results and as a potential confounding factor. To better understand this important tool of HRI research, we reviewed the HRI literature with a specific focus on practice and reporting related to NARS. We found that the use of NARS is being increasingly reported, and that there is a large variation in how NARS is applied. The reporting is, however, often not done in sufficient detail, meaning that NARS results are often difficult to interpret, and comparing between studies or performing meta-analyses are even more difficult. After providing an overview of the current state of NARS in HRI, we conclude with reflections and recommendations on the practices and reporting of NARS.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
IEEE, 2023
Series
IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication proceedings, ISSN 1944-9445, E-ISSN 1944-9437
National Category
Robotics and automation Human Aspects of ICT Interaction Technologies
Research subject
Interaction Lab (ILAB)
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:his:diva-23359 (URN)10.1109/RO-MAN57019.2023.10309650 (DOI)001108678600106 ()2-s2.0-85186997999 (Scopus ID)979-8-3503-3670-2 (ISBN)979-8-3503-3671-9 (ISBN)
Conference
IEEE International Workshop on Robot and Human Communication (ROMAN), August 28-31, 2023, Paradise Hotel, Busan, Korea
Available from: 2023-11-14 Created: 2023-11-14 Last updated: 2025-02-05Bibliographically approved
Billing, E., Rosén, J. & Lamb, M. (2023). Language Models for Human-Robot Interaction. In: HRI '23: Companion of the 2023 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction. Paper presented at ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, March 13–16, 2023, Stockholm, Sweden (pp. 905-906). ACM Digital Library
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Language Models for Human-Robot Interaction
2023 (English)In: HRI '23: Companion of the 2023 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, ACM Digital Library, 2023, p. 905-906Conference paper, Oral presentation with published abstract (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

Recent advances in large scale language models have significantly changed the landscape of automatic dialogue systems and chatbots. We believe that these models also have a great potential for changing the way we interact with robots. Here, we present the first integration of the OpenAI GPT-3 language model for the Aldebaran Pepper and Nao robots. The present work transforms the text-based API of GPT-3 into an open verbal dialogue with the robots. The system will be presented live during the HRI2023 conference and the source code of this integration is shared with the hope that it will serve the community in designing and evaluating new dialogue systems for robots.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
ACM Digital Library, 2023
National Category
Natural Language Processing Computer graphics and computer vision
Research subject
Interaction Lab (ILAB)
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:his:diva-22328 (URN)10.1145/3568294.3580040 (DOI)001054975700198 ()2-s2.0-85150449271 (Scopus ID)978-1-4503-9970-8 (ISBN)
Conference
ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, March 13–16, 2023, Stockholm, Sweden
Note

Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for third-party components of this work must be honored. For all other uses, contact the owner/author(s).

Available from: 2023-03-17 Created: 2023-03-17 Last updated: 2025-02-01Bibliographically approved
Rosén, J. & Lagerstedt, E. (2023). Speaking Properly with Robots. In: : . Paper presented at HRI ’23 Workshop — Inclusive HRI II, Equity and Diversity in Design, Application, Methods, and Community, Stockholm, Sweden, March 13, 2023, Co-located with the 2023 International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI 2023) (pp. 1-3).
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Speaking Properly with Robots
2023 (English)Conference paper, Oral presentation with published abstract (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

There is a risk of genuine but norm-breaking phenomena related to human-robot interaction remaining invisible, since their rarity make observed instances dismissed as anecdotes. In this extended abstract we present observations related to bias in who is understood in vocal interactions with robots. Noting the fundamentally political and intersectional nature of the problem, we call for a strategy for documenting such comparatively rare or messy events to break the invisibility and facilitate accumulation of evidence.

Keywords
Robots, HRI, Speech Recognition, Vocal Interaction, Sociolinguistics
National Category
Robotics and automation Ethics General Language Studies and Linguistics
Research subject
Interaction Lab (ILAB)
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:his:diva-22330 (URN)
Conference
HRI ’23 Workshop — Inclusive HRI II, Equity and Diversity in Design, Application, Methods, and Community, Stockholm, Sweden, March 13, 2023, Co-located with the 2023 International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI 2023)
Available from: 2023-03-21 Created: 2023-03-21 Last updated: 2025-02-05Bibliographically approved
Rosén, J., Lagerstedt, E. & Lamb, M. (2022). Is human-like speech in robots deception?. In: : . Paper presented at HRI ’22 Workshop — Robo-Identity 2, Exploring Artificial Identity and Emotion via Speech Interactions, Sapporo, Japan, March 6, 2022 (Virtual Event), Co-located with the 2022 International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI 2022) (pp. 1-3).
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Is human-like speech in robots deception?
2022 (English)Conference paper, Oral presentation with published abstract (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

The aim of this extended abstract is to discuss how speech and voice in robots could impact user expectations, and how we, within the human-robot interaction (HRI) research community, ought to handle human-like speech both in research and in the development of robots. Human-like speech refers to both emotions that are expressed through speech and the synthetic voice profile by the robot. The latter is especially important as artificial human-like speech is becoming indistinguishable from actual human speech. Together, these characteristics may cause certain expectations of what the robot is and what it is capable of which may impact both the immediate interactions between a user and robot, as well as a user's future interactions with robots. While there are many ethical considerations around robot designs, we focus specifically on the ethical implications of speech design choices as these choices affect user expectations. We believe this particular dimension is of importance because it not only effects the user immediately, but also the field of HRI, both as a field of research and design. The stance on deception may vary across the different domains that robots are used within; for example, there is a wider acknowledgment of deception in scientific research compared to commercial use of robots. Some of this variation may turn on technical definitions of deception for specific areas or cases. In this paper, we will take on a more general understanding of deception as an attempt to distort or withhold facts with the aim to mislead.

Keywords
human-robot interaction, deception, ethics, robo-identity
National Category
Human Computer Interaction Robotics and automation Ethics
Research subject
Interaction Lab (ILAB)
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:his:diva-22221 (URN)
Conference
HRI ’22 Workshop — Robo-Identity 2, Exploring Artificial Identity and Emotion via Speech Interactions, Sapporo, Japan, March 6, 2022 (Virtual Event), Co-located with the 2022 International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI 2022)
Available from: 2023-01-31 Created: 2023-01-31 Last updated: 2025-02-05Bibliographically approved
Rosén, J., Lindblom, J. & Billing, E. (2022). The Social Robot Expectation Gap Evaluation Framework. In: Masaaki Kurosu (Ed.), Human-Computer Interaction: Technological Innovation: Thematic Area, HCI 2022 Held as Part of the 24th HCI International Conference, HCII 2022 Virtual Event, June 26 – July 1, 2022 Proceedings, Part II. Paper presented at Thematic Area, HCI 2022, Held as Part of the 24th HCI International Conference, HCII 2022, Virtual Event, June 26 – July 1, 2022 (pp. 590-610). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland AG
Open this publication in new window or tab >>The Social Robot Expectation Gap Evaluation Framework
2022 (English)In: Human-Computer Interaction: Technological Innovation: Thematic Area, HCI 2022 Held as Part of the 24th HCI International Conference, HCII 2022 Virtual Event, June 26 – July 1, 2022 Proceedings, Part II / [ed] Masaaki Kurosu, Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland AG , 2022, p. 590-610Conference paper, Published paper (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

Social robots are designed in manners that encourage users to interact and communicate with them in socially appropriate ways, which implies that these robots should copy many social human behaviors to succeed in social settings. However, this approach has implications for what humans subsequently expect from these robots. There is a mismatch between expected capabilities and actual capabilities of social robots. Expectations of social robots are thus of high relevance for the field of Human-Robot Interaction (HRI). While there is recent interest of expectations in the HRI field there is no widely adapted or well formulated evaluation framework that offers a deeper understanding of how these expectations affect the success of the interaction. With basis in social psychology, user experience, and HRI, we have developed an evaluation framework for studying users’ expectations of social robots. We have identified three main factors of expectations for assessing HRI: affect, cognitive processing, and behavior and performance. In our framework, we propose several data collection techniques and specific metrics for assessing these factors. The framework and its procedure enables analysis of the collected data via triangulation to identify problems and insights, which can grant us a richer understanding of the complex facets of expectations, including if the expectations were confirmed or disconfirmed in the interaction. Ultimately, by gaining a richer understanding of how expectations affect HRI, we can narrow the social robot expectation gap and create more successful interactions between humans and social robots in society. 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland AG, 2022
Series
Lecture Notes in Computer Science, ISSN 0302-9743, E-ISSN 1611-3349 ; 13303
Keywords
Human robot interaction, Social psychology, Evaluation framework, Expectation, Expectations gaps, Human behaviors, Humans-robot interactions, Interaction fields, Social robots, Social settings, Users' experiences, Man machine systems, Expectations, Human-robot interaction, User experience
National Category
Human Computer Interaction Robotics and automation
Research subject
Interaction Lab (ILAB)
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:his:diva-21622 (URN)10.1007/978-3-031-05409-9_43 (DOI)000870114200043 ()2-s2.0-85133213973 (Scopus ID)978-3-031-05408-2 (ISBN)978-3-031-05409-9 (ISBN)
Conference
Thematic Area, HCI 2022, Held as Part of the 24th HCI International Conference, HCII 2022, Virtual Event, June 26 – July 1, 2022
Note

© 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

© 2022 Springer Nature Switzerland AG. Part of Springer Nature.

Available from: 2022-07-14 Created: 2022-07-14 Last updated: 2025-02-05Bibliographically approved
Rosén, J., Lindblom, J., Billing, E. & Lamb, M. (2021). Ethical Challenges in the Human-Robot Interaction Field. In: Alessandra Rossi ; Anouk van Maris ; Antonio Andriella ; Silvia Rossi (Ed.), ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction: The Road to a successful HRI: AI, Trust and ethicS - TRAITS Workshop. Paper presented at The Road to a successful HRI: AI, Trust and ethicS - TRAITS Workshop, in conjunction with the 2021 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, Boulder, USA, March 8--12 2021. ACM Digital Library
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Ethical Challenges in the Human-Robot Interaction Field
2021 (English)In: ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction: The Road to a successful HRI: AI, Trust and ethicS - TRAITS Workshop / [ed] Alessandra Rossi ; Anouk van Maris ; Antonio Andriella ; Silvia Rossi, ACM Digital Library, 2021Conference paper, Oral presentation with published abstract (Refereed)
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
ACM Digital Library, 2021
National Category
Robotics and automation Ethics
Research subject
Interaction Lab (ILAB); INF302 Autonomous Intelligent Systems
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:his:diva-19551 (URN)
Conference
The Road to a successful HRI: AI, Trust and ethicS - TRAITS Workshop, in conjunction with the 2021 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, Boulder, USA, March 8--12 2021
Available from: 2021-03-25 Created: 2021-03-25 Last updated: 2025-02-05Bibliographically approved
Rosén, J. (2021). Expectations: Approaching Social Robots. Skövde: University of Skövde
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Expectations: Approaching Social Robots
2021 (English)Report (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

The development of robots that are able to interact socially with humans is still in its early stages. Since the beginning of the 2000's, these (so called) social robots have started to emerge in a variety of settings. Along with the emergence of social robots, there has been a parallel interest to study the different aspects of having humans interact with robots socially. There are several motivations behind developing and studying social robots; social robots may be used as test beds to study human behavior, as tools for humans to achieve certain tasks in specific contexts, or as interaction partners and thus viewed as social agents. These three perspectives often draw on the assumption that human-robot interaction (HRI) is similar to human-human interaction. Thus, humans tend to expect human-like abilities in social robots, often mismatching the robots' actual capabilities.

In this thesis proposal, expectations of social robots are the focal point. Expectations are, in any aspect of life and not just in HRI, underlying and ever present mechanisms of human behavior. Expectations are defined as believed probabilities of future events that set the stage for the human belief system which guides our behavior, hopes, and intentions. Expectations are based on direct experience, other people, and beliefs. Once an expectation is set, it is accompanied by either positive or negative affect which turns to behavior and performance. Thus, expectations are crucial in human behavior, including when interacting with social robots. What makes social robots more rare than other technical artifacts such as computers, is the lack of personal experience for many humans. High expectations happen especially with social robots as they are purposely designed to look and behave like humans, thus creating ethical implications as it can be considered deceptive design.  Expectations are therefore usually built on beliefs based on the portrayal of social robots in media. When humans interact with social robots, they will usually have high expectations which ultimately has an effect on how successful the interaction will be. This creates a gap between what is expected, and what the robots are actually capable of.

Expectations are thus an underlying factor in interaction with any artifact, and there is a need to get a deeper understanding of how these expectations affect HRI. Once we have gained a richer understanding of how expectations affect HRI, we can narrow the expectation gap, and create more successful interactions between humans and social robots in society. With this in mind, the aim of my PhD work is to investigate the role expectations play when interacting socially with robots, including the subsequent ethical implications of such expectations. My four objectives are to (1) theoretically identify existing research on expectations in HRI, (2) empirically investigate expectations in HRI, (3) synthesize the obtained findings from objective 1 and 2 to create an interdisciplinary theoretical framework of expectations in HRI, and (4) address the ethical implications of expectations in HRI. In this thesis proposal, I present what I have done so far to reach these objectives, as well as my research plan moving forward towards my dissertation. The intended contributions of my PhD work is to theoretically and empirically characterize the role and relevance of humans' expectations when interacting with social robots with the goal to narrow the social robot expectation gap.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Skövde: University of Skövde, 2021. p. iii, 49
Keywords
expectations, human-robot interaction, social robots
National Category
Interaction Technologies Psychology Computer graphics and computer vision
Research subject
Interaction Lab (ILAB)
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:his:diva-20786 (URN)
Note

Thesis proposal, PhD programme, University of Skövde

Available from: 2021-12-16 Created: 2021-12-16 Last updated: 2025-02-01Bibliographically approved
Organisations
Identifiers
ORCID iD: ORCID iD iconorcid.org/0000-0001-8642-336x

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